Beware.

Col 2:6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
Col 2:7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
Col 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.



BEWARE. We know what this means- watch out, be careful. We have to beware of what? MAN. We have to beware of other people spoiling us. Not spoiling us in the way of giving us too much, but rather spoiling us for Christ, making us no good as followers of Christ. And others can spoil us through their PHILOSOPHIES, and through their VAIN DECEITS. Philosophies.


phi·los·o·phy
[fi-los-uh-fee]

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–noun, plural -phies.
1.
the rational investigation of the truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct.
2.
any of the three branches, namely natural philosophy, moral philosophy, and metaphysical philosophy, that are accepted as composing this study.
3.
a system of philosophical doctrine: the philosophy of Spinoza.
4.
the critical study of the basic principles and concepts of a particular branch of knowledge, esp. with a view to improving or reconstituting them: the philosophy of science.
5.
a system of principles for guidance in practical affairs.
6.
a philosophical attitude, as one of composure and calm in the presence of troubles or annoyances.


Men's philosophies - Men's truths, men's principles, men's knowledge, men's conduct.

vain
[veyn]

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–adjective, -er, -est.
1.
excessively proud of or concerned about one's own appearance, qualities, achievements, etc.; conceited: a vain dandy.
2.
proceeding from or showing personal vanity: vain remarks.
3.
ineffectual or unsuccessful; futile: a vain effort.
4.
without real significance, value, or importance; baseless or worthless: vain pageantry; vain display.
5.
Archaic . senseless or foolish.
—Idiom
6.
in vain,
a.
without effect or avail; to no purpose: to apologize in vain.
b.
in an improper or irreverent manner: to take God's name in vain.

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de·ceit
[dih-seet]

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–noun
1.
the act or practice of deceiving; concealment or distortion of the truth for the purpose of misleading; duplicity; fraud; cheating: Once she exposed their deceit, no one ever trusted them again.
2.
an act or device intended to deceive; trick; stratagem.
3.
the quality of being deceitful; duplicity; falseness: a man full of deceit.

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Men's foolish duplicity. Men's foolish trickery.

Col 2:6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
Col 2:7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
Col 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.


Beware of others- beware of their traditions, their philosophies, their falseness, their tricks. People get so puffed up with their own ideas about things. They interpret things one way and insist it's the right way. They get their minds clouded with so much that has nothing to do with our Savior. We have to be very careful of others leading us down their road of deceit. The thing is, they won't even realize they are being deceitful most times. People will get caught up in their own *beliefs* and forget that it's God's beliefs we are to adhere to, not anyone else's. People will say everything is interpreted differently and yet God will not contradict Himself.


As we receive Jesus we have to WALK in Him.
We have to be ROOTED and BUILT up in Him.
We have to be STABLISHED in the FAITH.
We have to abound with THANKSGIVING!


Only when we are walking, rooted, built, stablished in the faith and giving thanks all in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior are we safe. We have to LOOK to HIM and ONLY HIM! We can help each other but we can't look to each other, walking in the faith of one another. Men throughout time have gone astray when they look to other men for the answers. The answers are found in Christ and a personal relationship with Him. If we don't have a personal walk with Christ then we will be deceived. Make no mistake right now there are many people who want followers, many people who want you to join their organizations, many people who like nothing better than to have a fellow believer in THEIR beliefs. Our standard has to be God's Word and God's Word only and no other.


May the grace of God cover us all. May we walk in Him and only in Him. Thank you Lord for the blessing of You, of Your love, Your sacrifice. By Your mercy, through Your righteousness now and forever!


Amen.